Moet ons die Belydenis van Belhar (1986) as 'n nuwe Belydenisskrif aanvaar ?

Can we accept the Confession of Belhar (1986) as a new doctrinal confession? The possibility exists that the Dutch Refonned Church (DRC) could stop the process of church unity in its own family due to its refusal to accept The Confession 1986 (Confession of Belhar) as a fourth reformed confession. In this article the question of acceptance is examined from four perspectives and it is concluded that it should be accepted if the DRC wants to gain credibility. First the nature, characteristics and history of confessions oblige the Church in difficult situations to adopt new confessions. Secondly the history of the DRC and its family makes it imperative to overcome the gulf between believers from the same tradition through the "language of confession". Thirdly the main contents of the confession is biblically sound while absolutism of different kinds is avoided. Lastly it is argued that the confession satisfies the requirement for both contextual relevance and universal applicability.Continued 2001 as 'Verbum et Ecclesia'Spine cut of Journal binding and pages scanned on flatbed EPSON Expression 10000 XL; 400dpi; text/lineart - black and white - stored to Tiff Derivation: Abbyy Fine Reader v.9 work with PNG-format (black and white); Photoshop CS3; Adobe Acrobat v.9 Web display format PDFhttp://explore.up.ac.za/record=b102527

The proper "sphere of influence" in relation to corporate responsibility for human rights

ABSTRACT In this research report, I address the question: “What is the proper sphere of influence of a corporation in relation to its moral obligations to support and respect human rights?” I take for granted that corporations have positive duties to help protect human rights. Referring to recent reports on sphere of influence by the UN Special Representative, I consider the question of whom it is that a corporation is obliged to help. I assert that the predominant spatial metaphor provides an implausible account of sphere of influence and propose an alternative approach, adopting principles of respect for the freedom and autonomy of others, with specific reference to a corporation’s concrete set of social, economic, political and historical relations with other actors. I attempt to demonstrate that the proposed approach more plausibly defines the beneficiaries of a duty to aid in relation to human rights than either a spatial metaphor or the Special Representative’s principle of a duty to respect human rights

Personal-ethical perspectives in the work of Etienne de Villiers

With a mixture of hesitation and gratitude, the author undertook a reflection from a pastor’s viewpoint on Etienne de Villiers’s personal-ethical contributions to date. The distinguishing term ‘personal’ in ‘personal ethics’ is problematic, but the discussion thereof provided an opportunity to demonstrate that De Villiers did not develop a narrowed individual ethic, and decidedly also did not elect to take the route of Dilschneider’s ‘personal ethics’, but provided valuable contributions on ethical issues of a more personal nature. De Villiers’s greatest contribution concerns fundamental ethics which, viewed from the perspective of our history, as well as from our current situation, is now most essential for authenticity. This more fundamental focus on ethics has numerous implications for social ethics and also for more personal ethics.http://www.ve.org.zaam2013mn201

A diagnostic approach to recurrent respiratory tract infections in childhood : could it be primary immunodeficiency?

The recurrence of respiratory tract infections is a common problem in paediatric practice. Parental concerns around recurrent respiratory infections (RRTI) contribute significally towards doctor visits. This a a surprising lack of evidence, guidelines and appropriate ICD 10 cording for RRTI. Many of the children who present with RRTI are immunologically normal children but it is important to recognise the features of a possible immune deficit or other serious underlying disorder. The evaluation children who present with RRTI requires close attention to the history and clinical findings in order to differentiate those who warrant more extensive investigations from those who need reassurance directed toward their concerned parents. PID may be responsible for around 10% of RRTI in children. More than 50% of these are due to antibody defects and the majority can be diagnosed and treated effectively. The question that arises is when to start more extensive investigations and when to accept that this child is otherwise healthy. The purpose of this review is to assist the clinician with a diagnostic approach to differentiate the "normal" child from the child with a more serious underlying aetiology of RRTI, necessitating investigation.http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublication/caciam201

The use of disinfection tunnels or disinfectant spraying of humans as a measure to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

In endeavouring to mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a concerning practice of spraying individuals with disinfectant via so-called ‘disinfection tunnels’ has come to light. The Allergy Society of South Africa supports the World Health Organization in strongly condemning all human spraying, owing to lack of efficacy and potential dangers, especially to patients with coexisting allergic conditions.http://www.samj.org.zaam2021Paediatrics and Child Healt

Diagnosing and managing childhood asthma effectively with limited resources

Childhood asthma must be diagnosed and managed correctly. It is the most common and potentially fatal chronic noncommunicable disease in children. The prevalence of asthma is increasing in both resource-limited and well-resourced settings. Up to 96% of asthma deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where medical care must often be offered against a background of limited resources. Simple diagnostic steps, accessible treatment options and a good understanding of childhood asthma and asthma education will benefit all asthmatic patients, especially those who rely on resource-limited healthcare. This review is not an academic appraisal of data on the topic; it aims instead to extract practical solutions from asthma guideline documents to bring correct diagnoses and simple, yet effective management options to resource-limited settings.https://journals.co.za/journal/caciam2024Paediatrics and Child HealthSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

Dr Spur’s mystery case : the pain of the grain

No abstract available.https://journals.co.za/journal/caciPaediatrics and Child HealthSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

The wheezy infant and toddler asthmatic - a primary care approach

Wheeze is common in infants and young children. Asthma is but one cause and it is obviously important to exclude or include as it is amenable to specific therapy. It is also obvious that the pre-school or young child is not just a smaller variety of the older child or adult and this is especially true of asthma, where special situations exist with regard to diagnosis and treatment. Although there is a differential diagnosis for the major symptoms that constitute asthma in this age group, no child should be left to wheeze or cough without the possibility of asthma being considered and excluded. New guidelines and reports suggest that differentiation of virally induced wheeze from multi-trigger wheeze (or toddler asthma) is less important than making an attempt to manage the child. If an infant, or young child, has a chronic wheeze and is atopic or responds to a bronchodilator, asthma is more likely and therapy should be tried. If, however, there is no response to the therapy, investigate for other causes. Remember that in South Africa wheeze may also be produced by chronic infections, gastro-oesophageal reflux, cardiac failure, cystic fibrosis and a host of other sinister conditions. Therapeutically, for mild and intermittent wheeze the choice of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) or a leukotriene antagonist may be valuable options. Therapy is intermittent and should be started pre-emptively. However, for more severe and frequent symptoms regular use of ICS (moderate dose) is clearly the best therapeutic option.http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublication/caciam2016Paediatrics and Child Healt

Method of delivery, the microbiome and neurodevelopment

Caesarean sections, and especially elective Caesarean sections, are on the increase worldwide. The grey-matter volume of the foetal brain undergoes a linear increase of 1,4% per week from 29 weeks until 40 weeks of gestation. This is followed by an accelerated period of brain growth, during which 50% of the increase in cortical volume occurs, between 34 and 40 weeks of gestation. Between 37 and 40 weeks of gestation, cortical grey matter increases by 50% and myelinated white matter increases three-fold. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a baby is born prematurely if it is delivered before 37 completed weeks’ gestational age (GA), or before 259 days after the last normal menstrual period. As a result, the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (ACOG) has adopted a new maturity classification that refers to babies born from 37 to 39 weeks as ‘early term’. Early-term neonates are at increased risk of morbidity. Prematurity is associated with impaired cortical development, and ex-premature infants never achieve the same degree of cortical folding as that seen in babies born at term. Prematurity is also a major risk factor for cerebral palsy, which occurs in 35% of cases. The increased risk is directly proportional to decreasing GA. The global prevalence of cerebral palsy is 2/1 000 births. Between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation, the risk increases to 6.75/1 000 births. Importantly for the timing of elective Caesarean section, there is still an increased risk of 1.35/1 000 births even after 36 weeks of gestation. Babies who are born in the early term period (between 37 and 39 weeks GA) will later constitute 5,5% of children with special educational needs (SEN). Even those babies born at 39 weeks GA carry an elevated risk and constitute 1,7% of total SEN cases. Normal vaginal delivery is associated with neonatal acquisition of a maternally derived microbiome that has a rich diversity. Through bacterial peptides, the microbiome stimulates immune, endocrine and neuronal cells to release cytokines and neurotransmitters, which access the central nervous system via the blood or the vagal nerve. In this way, enteric bacteria can influence mood and behaviour, sleep–wake cycles and feeding patterns. During Caesarean section, however, the foetus is colonised instead by bacteria from the mother’s skin. The microbiome that results from this has far less richness and diversity. This in turn is associated with significant risk for chronic inflammatory disorders in later life. New to our understanding of chronic inflammatory disorders that result from dysbiosis is a range of neuro-developmental problems in childhood and adults.http://www.journals.co.za/content/journal/caciam2018Paediatrics and Child Healt

HRSBallast : a high-resolution dataset featuring scanned angular, semi-angular and rounded railway ballast

A high-resolution dataset of digitally scanned railway ballast (HRSBallast) is presented, consisting of 108 individual, digitised samples. The ballast samples were sourced from both a railway test track section located on a heavy haul coal export line in South Africa and a local quarry. The sampled ballast from the field installation represent angular, semi-angular and rounded geometric features depending on the sampled location. The fresh ballast sourced from the quarry was iteratively tested using a hydraulic actuator in a small-scale box test which forms part of a separate research project. The ballast samples were scanned before and after every test to ascertain the changes in geometry, in addition to the loss of material due to attrition. The field and laboratory samples were digitised using a high-resolution, commercial (Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) VSLAM-based scanner with a 40-micrometre accuracy. Samples which were fractured by the hydraulic actuator are also included in the dataset. HRSBallast serves as a reference dataset for granular media (GM) simulations utilizing DEM (discrete element method), degradation or wear modelling, digital assets for the creation of synthetic datasets for deep learning applications, embedded railway instrumentation and video games requiring high-resolution geometry.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/dibpm2021Civil Engineerin